Thailand's FDA warns against online shopping of health products

BANGKOK, December 28 (TNA) - Thailand's Food and Drug Administration (FDA), under the Ministry of Public Health, has issued an updated warning against the purchase of unlicensed health products by online shoppers as they may face life-threatening health issues consequently. FDA Deputy Secretary-General Dr. Poonlarp Chantavichitwong announced the official warning on Friday, being in line with similar warnings issued by health authorities in foreign countries. Dr. Poonlarp cited the warning issued by Singapore's Health Sciences Authority (HSA) as an example, stating that the Singapore HSA has cautioned against the online shopping of unlicensed pharmaceutical and supplementary food products by consumers as some of them have been detected with some banned or harmful substances in their compounds, like sibutramine that affects consumers' central nervous system for the dietary purpose but having such serious side effects as heart and vascular diseases. The Thai FDA deputy chief also cited the Health Canada's warning as another good example, noting that the Canadian health authority has found such harmful and unlawful substance as Sodium Chlorite NaClO2, used for the production of antiseptic solutions, textile and other industrial products, in some pharmaceutical items sold through the online system and some of them even claimed for the treatment of cancer, HIV/AIDS and autism in children. The Thai FDA deputy chief quoted the Canadian health authority as warning that the harmful substances detected in the unlicensed pharmaceutical products may cause kidney failure, abnormal erythrocytes, nausea, vomit or diarrhea. (TNA)